Beekeeping Through the Eyes of a Biologist
Thanks to these sponsors, you can enjoy this website without annoying popup ads!
You can show your appreciation by clicking on their banners above to go directly to their websites.
Contents Experiment #1. 2 Conclusion. 6 Rallying the Troops 7 The Dance Language. 7 Direction. 7 Distance. 8 “Profitability” and Desirability. 8 ODOR. 9 An Amusing Anecdote Regarding Training Bees to A Scent 9 The Purpose of a Robbing Screen. 9 Experiment #2. 10 Results. 12 The Question of Recruitment 13 The Question of Visual […]
Read MoreContents Fact-checking some “common knowledge” about Robbing behavior 1 Anthropomorphizing bee behaviors. 4 There are different types of foragers. 4 Persistence of Memory. 5 How robbing happens –– Step by Step. 6 Importance of Scent 7 Our initial experiments to test the deterrance effect of screens 8 “Guilty” Flight Behavior 13 So is zig-Zag flight […]
Read MoreContents Introduction and Some Scientific Terms 2 Don’t Anthropormorphize Honey Bees 3 An Example of Robbing Without a Fight 4 There’s Little Difference Between Foraging and Robbing. 4 How Robbing Screens or Guards are Presumed to Work. 5 Test 1: Does Any Exhaust Air Exit Out the Upper Entrance?. 5 Our Findings 6 Test 2: […]
Read MoreContents Introduction. 1 Materials and Methods. 1 SIDE NOTE: A Practical Observation. 9 Back to M&M.. 9 Results. 10 Discussion. 13 Next 15 Citations and Notes 16 Can Robbing Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 4 First Published in ABJ October 2024 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com I’m typing these words freshly returned from presenting […]
Read MoreContents The Effect of Mite Immigration Upon the Efficacy of OAE. 1 Trial B –– A Comparative Trial of Effect of Robber Screens Upon Mite Buildup. 4 Experimental Design. 4 Materials and Methods. 5 Results. 7 Discussion. 10 Next 10 Acknowledgements. 10 Citations and Notes 1 Can Robber Screens Reduce Mite Immigration? Part 3 First […]
Read MoreContents Trial A –– A Crossover trial, No Mite Donor Hives 1 Materials and Methods. 2 The Robber Screens Used. 2 The Trial Yard. 3 Preparation for the Trial 3 Experimental Design. 6 Treatment Assignment 7 Stickyboard Counts 7 Results and Interpretation. 9 Conclusions 12 Acknowledgements. 13 Citations and Notes 13 Can Robber Screens Reduce […]
Read MoreContents Defining our Objectives. 4 LIVE AND LET DIE “Bond Method.. 4 “NATURAL” Beekeeping.. 5 The Mutualistic Symbiosis Between the Bee and Humans. 6 Recreational Beekeeping. 7 “TREATMENT FREE” Beekeepers. 7 Eliminating the Fitness Benefit to the Varroa/DWV Complex Gained by Killing its host hive. 9 Darwinian Beekeeping. 9 The Dream of a “Gentler” Mite. […]
Read MoreContents A Primer on the Drivers of Evolution. 2 Defining the Niche. 2 The Breeding Population. 3 The Honey bee Populations in the U.S. 4 Reproduction and Dispersal 7 Acknowledgements. 9 Notes and Citations. 9 The Varroa Problem: Part 17b The Evolution of Bees, Mites, and DWV First Published in ABJ August 2018 […]
Read MoreContents Being part of The Solution rather than part of The Problem.. 1 Assigning the blame. 2 Let’s first get some facts straight. 3 Our part in creating the monster. 8 Understanding Bee, Varroa, Virus & Beekeeping Coevolution. 9 it’s all about successful dispersal and transmission. 10 Here’s how it works. 11 Next. 13 Acknowledgements. […]
Read MoreContents Bee Drift and Mite Dispersal (continued) 1 So why do colonies allow bees to drift in?. 1 The sheer numbers involved. 4 The amount of mite drift into other hives. 5 Collapse and Robbing. 7 What happens to all the mite-infested bees when a colony collapses?. 8 Swarms coming back to bite you in […]
Read MoreContents Bee Drift and Mite Dispersal 1 Dispersal of varroa. 2 Phoresy, grooming, and host preference by the mites. 3 The shifting of varroa’s preferred transport. 6 Our unnaturally close placement of hives in apiaries. 7 Measured rates of hive-to-hive worker and drone drift. 7 The Diffusion of Mites. 8 Are some hives more attractive […]
Read MoreContents Early-season mite management. 2 Mid-season mite management. 4 Late-summer mite management. 4 A day-by-day model 5 The basics of oxalic vaporization. 6 The optimal interval for OA vaporization treatments. 9 Fall-winter mite management. 13 Acknowledgements. 13 Notes and Citations. 14 The Varroa Problem: Part 15 Modeling the Effect of Mite Treatments Randy Oliver […]
Read MoreContents The problem with waiting too late to treat. 1 Virus dynamics and miticides. 3 The question of timing. 3 the proportion of mites that are in the brood. 5 Efficacy of treatments. 8 The problem with the bombs. 8 Coming next. 10 Acknowledgements. 10 Notes and Citations. 10 The Varroa Problem: Part […]
Read MoreThe Varroa Problem: Part 13 Using the Mite Model First published in ABJ December 2017 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com It’s been nearly 25 years since I saw the first varroa mite in one of my hives, and it’s been a wild ride since then. Not only for our bees, but also for the business of beekeeping, […]
Read MoreThe Varroa Problem: Part 12 Building a Model First published in ABJ November 2017 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In my last article, I showed the basic math of varroa buildup during the period of broodrearing, and the subsequent decline of the mite population when no broodrearing was taking place. My simple graphs were illustrative of […]
Read More